Avengers Assemble: Loki's Redemption
by Blackwingcrow
Summary: A year after the Manhattan incident, a new threat of invasion sends Earth in to another war crisis. This time however, the nine realms are all in danger of destruction, by a force said to be unstoppable. This time, two Gods are needed to help them prevent the chaos that threatens to destroy everything in existence. Get ready for more mischief. More trickery, but with less lies.
1. The path of Redemption

Avengers Assemble: Loki's Redemption

Chapter 1: Setting up to walk the path of Redemption

_"I could have done it father, I could have done it!" Loki cried as he desperately clung on to the end of Gungnir; his only lifeline that was being held be his brother, Thor. "For you… for all of us…" his voice trailed off. His looked at his father, staring into his one good eye; this look was like that of a small child and once again, Loki felt like the small boy that was trying to impress his father. He sent Odin a pleading look as if willing his father to say that he was proud of him. _

_"No, Loki" the Allfather said firmly, but a small amount of regret could be detected in his voice._

_The God of Mischief's eyes widened, but then his expression seemed to change to one of understanding, but what Loki seemed to understand was wrong. He thought that because of what he had done, Odin didn't want him as a son any more. With one last look of regret into his brother's eyes, Loki loosened his grip on Gungnir, "Loki, no" Thor said, with a very worried expression on his face._

_Loki then let go of the mighty staff and gave his brother an apologizing look before turning to fall into the abyss head on. _

_"NO!" Thor yelled, as he helplessly watched Loki disappear into the abyss…_

Loki opened his eyes and sat up on the uncomfortable prison cell bed, his forehead was slightly sweaty; he'd been having this dream play out in his head since Thor brought him back to Asgard after his defeat a year ago and quite frankly, he was sick of it. The God of Mischief heard footsteps approaching his cell and glanced over to the bars to see who it was.

It was Thor.

_I should have known, _Loki thought. His step brother had come to visit him once again in his imprisonment, which has been after he had been stripped of his magic and his title as a prince of Asgard. The God of Thunder had come to visit his cell every day for the past year without fail and stay for a while, sometimes for quite a few hours. At first, Loki had ignored him completely, but after about a month, he began to talk to Thor, asking him about how things were in Asgard, since obviously he couldn't receive the day's news unless he was told. Even though he talked to his older step brother, Loki still held a lot of hate for him, since he still believed that he was and still is, loved more, but deep down in his heart, he had forgiven Thor and his father a long time ago.

The guard unlocked the door to the cell and opened it for the God of Thunder, who then stepped inside and walked over to Loki. "You are early today, why?" Loki asked.

Thor didn't answer for a few seconds; he was a little speechless and there seemed to be something bothering him, but then he found the courage to speak up, "Brother, our father he… he wishes to speak with you."

The younger God didn't seem surprised; he knew that this day was bound to come up at some point, but he had wondered why Odin hadn't requested his presence earlier, instead of locking him up in a cell for a year. Loki stood up and looked Thor in the eye, "He is not my father; he never was. Just like you are not my brother." The God of Mischief spat, before walking to the guard that stood holding the cell door open.

Thor was deeply hurt by Loki's comment and he kept on wondering how he could make up to his brother; he had been thinking about it since the incident a year ago and so far he'd had no luck incoming up with a solution.

The guard held up a pair of shackles and Loki held out his arms, waiting for them to be bound. There was no point in him struggling; Loki didn't have Thor's brute strength and he had been stripped of his magic when he had first got to Asgard a year ago.

Just before the guard put the shackles on the younger God, Thor spoke up, "Those will not be necessary."

The guard nodded and lead the two Gods out of the dungeons and to the throne room where Odin awaited.

As they walked up the great marble staircases of the Asgardian palace, Loki couldn't help but wonder what form of death the Allfather had planned for him. He had been waiting for his death for an entire year and that in itself has been torture. He wondered if he would he be brutally tortured until he gave in to death's cold embrace? Or perhaps he would meet his end at the hands of the man he had once called father? Either way, Loki had a feeling that his demise would not be at all pleasant.

Thor watched his brother ascend the great staircase; he still walked with an elegant step and a confident look, ready to accept what Odin was to say whatever it may be. Despite this, Thor could see that under all of the confidence that Loki portrayed, the God of Mischief was nervous about seeing Odin, no matter how much he tried to hide it. Loki had always been a master of lying; no matter what the lie was, he could always pull it off and fool everyone, with the exception of Odin, Heimdall and in some cases, Thor and Frigga.

Even though the Allfather had ordered Thor to retrieve Loki from the dungeons, he had not told the God of Thunder why. Thor had prepared for the worst and should Odin sentence Loki to death, Thor was prepared to do everything in his power to make sure that did not happen, even if he had to challenge his father for his crown.

* * *

As soon as they made it to the throne room, the first thing that Loki noticed was that every single citizen of Asgard was gathered in the great space. Silence swept across the room when the Asgardians caught sight of Loki and all eyes fell upon him, _so it is to be a public execution? So be it, _the God of mischief thought as he descended the small golden staircase.

Loki was forced to walk the full length of the silent hall with the whole of Asgard staring at him, their eyes filled with hatred; he hated it; the dead silence, the unwanted attention. Was this to be some form of torture before his true punishment was dealt out? Because if it was, then it was definitely working; they looked at him like he was some sort of monster; a creature that needed to be locked up or destroyed and void of all emotion. This is exactly what Loki considered himself to be, but for others to think that of him, hurt him deep down, although he would never admit it.

Loki stopped walking when he reached the other small staircase at the far end of the hall; the one that lead up to Odin's throne. He was forced down onto his knees by the guard that had collected him from the dungeons, who then took his place among the other guards that were stationed on either side of the aisle, feeling assured that the God of Mischief could not escape with the whole of Asgard around.

Thor, who was reluctant to leave his brother's side (he would always call Loki his brother, no matter what) eventually took his place. He stood on the steps just below Frigga, exactly where Loki himself once stood. Below Thor, stood the Lady Sif; Loki had never been best of friends with Sif, or the Warriors Three-who were standing opposite Frigga, Thor and Sif- for that matter, but they had a certain degree of friendship, but that of course had been crushed when Loki took the throne of Asgard.

The God of mischief looked up and stared at the Allfather, waiting for his punishment with a mask of indifference. However, anyone who knew well would be able to see the slight fear in his eyes at seeing Odin once again.

The Allfather stood up and looked down at Loki, ready to pass his judgement; he too wore a mask of indifference, just as he always did, but this time it seemed to be different; there seemed to be a miniscule amount of regret in his eyes, but Loki thought that he was just seeing things. "Loki… Odinson," the mentioned God opened his mouth to object to the false second name, but he was silenced by Odin, "Allow me to speak, my son."

Loki visibly cringed at the Allfather's words, but kept silent.

"Your crimes committed against both Asgard and Midgard, are punishable by death-"

"Then just sentence me already!" Loki exclaimed, "Sentence me to the death that you know damn well that I deserve! Kill me, like the monster I am. I don't care how slow it is or how painful it is, just end my life. I know you want to." Loki paused for a split second, "Have I not suffered enough this past year, waiting for death's embrace? Waiting for you to announce my demise was torture enough, so just kill me now and be done with it!" the God of mischief yelled. A pained expression tore across his face; it was similar to the one that he'd had after he had yelled at Odin to tell him of his true heritage, but this time it was more distraught.

The Allfather looked into Loki's emerald eyes; they were pleading for death, a death that he had long expected. A death that Odin would not give, "No, Loki" the Allfather said. Thor felt utter relief wash over him, as did Frigga. A set of whispers broke the silence that had dwindled in the air for a few seconds. These whispers, however, were stopped by the sound of Gungnir tapping on the golden floor of the throne room. Silence washed over the room once again, "Your crimes may be punishable by death," Loki hung his head, "However, I am partly to blame for your actions."

A loud gasp that was shared by the Asgardians filled the throne room. Loki's head shot up so he was looking straight at Odin, "Allfather, you are not the one who should be blamed, I-"

"Silence, Loki" Odin commanded. The young God instantly obeyed, but kept his gaze fixed on the Allfather, "I am to blame. I should have told you of your true heritage a long time ago, instead of keeping the truth from you and having you accidentally stumble across it during your journey to Jotunheim. If I am correct, that is what filled you with hate and lead you to take the actions you took. Am I correct?" The God of Wisdom asked.

Loki muttered his answer and not even those who were nearest to him could hear it.

"Speak up, my son, it matters not what your answer is."

"Yes, you are correct," Loki said quietly, but loud enough for everyone to hear.

Odin seemed to approve of his son's answer and looked like he was smiling ever so slightly, but this could have just been an illusion. Which one it was, Loki did not know, but he did not care for that, he was more focused on what Odin was going to say next.

"Loki," Odin began, "My son. I am deeply sorry for all the pain you have suffered at my hand, I should have known better; I was foolish in my actions and I beg for your forgiveness." The Allfather's apology was genuine and his expression was solemn.

Loki's eyes widened; if anything, he had not expected to receive an apology from Odin at all, let alone to see him give him an apology in front of the entire population of Asgard. "I… I forgive you" the Trickster said, as a tear slid down his right cheek.

"Stand, Loki, there is no need for you to kneel here."

Loki tried to stand up, but he found that he was still a little too shocked about this sudden turn of events and only made it up onto one knee. Only a small while ago was he locked in the dungeons of the place and now he was a free man? This is certainly something he hadn't anticipated.

Thor walked down the golden staircase and stood in front of Loki with his hand outstretched, smiling at him. The God of Mischief looked at Thor directly in the eyes, judging whether to accept it or not; the God of Thunder nodded, urging Loki to accept his gesture. The younger god smiled and grasped Thor's forearm.

Thor pulled Loki to his feet. The God of Mischief nodded his thanks and Thor clapped him on the shoulder with his left hand, before moving to stand next to him; the way he stood clearly told his father that he didn't want to leave Loki's side. The Allfather seemed to acknowledge this and a small amount of pride for his sons' re-established bond as brothers could be seen by his slight smile.

"Loki," Odin started. He walked down the small, golden staircase, his footsteps echoing in the ancient and silent hall until they came to a halt. The God of Wisdom stopped when he stood on the last step and looked directly at the God of Mischief, still smiling a little. "Odinson. In the name of my father and his father before, I, Odin Allfather, return to you your power." Odin tapped Gungnir on the floor.

Loki felt an invisible force hit him square in the chest. He staggered back a bit and looked at his hands; he could feel a slight tingling sensation throughout his whole body, but mostly in his fingertips. He felt powerful again with his magic coursing through him. His magic had a certain warmth to it, even though he was a Frost Giant and not even the coldest part of Jotunheim could eradicate that warmth. Loki looked up at Thor, who just smiled at him.

The younger God turned his gaze back to Odin, who signalled for a guard holding a large, black staff, which had a glowing blue crystal set on top of it, in between two extremely sharp blades that curved outwards. The staff wasn't just an ordinary colour of black, it was literally as black as the void; taking in all light and giving none in return. In a way this reflected what Loki had acted like a year ago, when he had all that hate and sorrow clouding his heart, but it also reflected what he seemed to be like now; lingering in the shadows to protect those who dwell in the light. This new staff would protect Loki and others with its dark beauty and would destroy any foe that it should come across.

"This staff, Loki is called Fróðleikr. Like Mjolnir, it was forged in the heart of a dying star and it's only equal in power, is Mjolnir. You are the greatest Sorcerer in the nine realms, Loki, I know you will use this staff to its full potential." Odin nodded to the guard, who walked up to the God of Mischief and held the staff out to him. Loki took Fróðleikr and held it delicately in both of his hands, while looking at it with disbelieving eyes. To Loki, this felt like a dream and any second now he would wake up from it. Deep down, however, he knew that what was happening was completely real.

The guard also handed Loki a belt, which he took with his right hand, holding Fróðleikr in the other. The belt had six throwing knives sheathed on it; his old set of throwing knives that had been crafted for him by the Dwarves of Nidavellir. They truly were a beautiful and deadly set, especially when the God of Mischief channelled his magic through them. "I also return to you your throwing knives, since I am aware that they are a formidable companion to you in battle. There is also one other thing," Odin said.

Loki's head shot up; he seemed to have come out of his small state of shock and was ready to listen to the Allfather.

"You are our son, Loki, and Thor's brother. Whereas we may not be bound by blood, our relationship as a family runs much deeper than blood. Therefore, it is only right that I should restore you to your rightful title," said Odin.

There were a few murmurs among the citizens of Asgard, but once again, they were silenced by the sound of Gungnir tapping on the golden floor. "As of this day, I, Odin Allfather, restore you to your title of Prince Loki Odinson, second son of myself, Odin Allfather and Queen Frigga and younger brother to Prince Thor Odinson."

The hall was silent for a few moments, until a single person could be heard clapping; that person, was none other than Volstagg the Voluminous. Every person present in the hall looked over at him. He got a little embarrassed and stopped clapping, only to discover that after he stopped, everyone else in the hall started clapping and cheering; even the guards joined in. It seemed that Loki was once again welcome in Asgard, but if he wanted the people's respect, he would have to earn it first.

Frigga descended the golden staircase quickly and elegantly. She went and hugged her Loki gently, who returned it instantly. After the Queen of Asgard had finished muttering apologies to Loki and telling him how glad she was about Odin's decision, the God of Mischief was then caught up in Thor's vice-like grip (which had been nicknamed by everyone who knew Thor personally 'the hug of death'.) This only got worse when The Warriors Three joined in. Eventually, Fandral, Hogun and Volstagg stopped suffocating the younger God (although, he was still being suffocated by Thor.)

The two brothers pulled out of the brotherly hug and smiled at the people of Asgard, who were still cheering for the fact that they once again has two princes. A few moments later, Loki felt the temperature in the room rise by an astronomical amount. He turned around, glanced behind himself and noticed a Fire Demon at the other end of the extremely large throne room, pulling back the string of a bow that had a flaming arrow attached to the bowstring. The arrow seemed to be aimed at Thor. Loki's eyes widened at this and he pushed past his brother just as the arrow was fired; he knew all too well that the long bows of Muspelheim fired arrows very quickly, due to their sheer size, but they took a while to load another arrow onto.

Loki stuck his hand out and stopped the arrow with his magic, just before it struck his palm.

Everyone in the hall gasped and looked over at the Fire Demons. The guards instantly took up a defensive stance, ready to protect the people of Asgard and their king. The Warriors Three and the Lady Sif had been forced to leave their weapons on a table outside the throne room. Reluctantly, they ran out of a door located at the very back and far to the left, of the room to go and get their weapons.

Thor, who also was without Mjolnir, merely summoned the legendary hammer to him and took up a battle stance next to Loki, who then cancelled the magic, he was using to hold the arrow in place and everyone watched as it fell to the ground.

_Clang!_

**(I recommend listening to the Frost Giant battle theme while watching the fight scene watch?v=9974PHElCxA)**

All hell instantly broke loose as around thirty more Fire Demons gathered behind the archer. They were nearly as tall as Frost Giants and stood at around ten feet tall. Their bodies were enveloped in a constant burning flame that would only ever die, when the Fire Demon itself died. They had eyes as black as the night and looking into them for long enough could make most feel like running in fear. The Fire Demons had swords made of a metal that was resilient to their fire, but it also channelled it as well, so their swords were flaming, just as their arrows.

The archer drew a short sword and then it, along with all the other Fire Demons charged at the Asgardians, getting to them very quickly due to their sheer size.

Thor, being the mighty warrior he was, charged at the closest Fire Demon to him, with Mjolnir raised, ready to do some serious damage. As soon as the God of Thunder was near enough, he struck the flaming enemy on the right side of its jaw with Mjolnir, snapping its neck and killing it. He then took a step forward and hitting another in the chest, causing its ribs to crack and pierce its lungs.

Thor then glanced behind his shoulder quickly to make sure everyone was alright. That's when he noticed Loki channelling his magic into one of his knives, before throwing it into the heart of one of the Fire Demons and summoning it back on to his belt. In any other circumstance, Thor would have smiled with pride at his brother; he noted that his already deadly accuracy with throwing knifes had improved a lot in the time that they had spent apart. Unfortunately, the God of Thunder couldn't dwell on this thought for too long since he was on a battle field, so instead he went back to making sure that the Fire Demons didn't get close to any of the Asgardians.

Loki, who was now completely focused on the battle, looked around the throne room, assessing what form of attack would be best for him; his illusions were more or less not an option, the enemy had already seen him and his illusions wouldn't be able to lead any Fire Demons to their death like he had done with the Frost Giants. Leaning back so he would avoid decapitation from the flaming blade of a Fire Demon (which Loki noted was, very, _very _hot) and then throwing one of his knives a very short distance in front of him to kill the flaming being, the God of Mischief also decided that using his throwing knives wouldn't be the best form of attack either, since he was virtually next to his enemies. So that left Loki with one option; his new staff, Fróðleikr. He was not used to close combat with so many enemies around; he preferred one on one, but with the circumstance presented to him, that was clearly not an option. So, he decided to give his new staff a try and stabbed a Fire Demon in the chest with it. The blades at the end of it were far sharper than the one on the Sceptre the Chitauri had given him. Smiling at the power of his new staff, Loki fired a blast of magical energy at another one of his fiery enemies, failing to notice how hot the room was now getting for him.

The Warriors Three and the Lady Sif charged back into the room, fully armed and ready for battle. They joined Thor and Loki at the head of the fight and started killing off the Fire Demons themselves, while a few of the guards were shielding themselves and the other Asgardians from some of the arrows that were coming down on them, the rest of them aided Asgard's finest warriors in fending off the attack.

Sif sliced one of the Fire Demons across the stomach with her double bladed staff, before whipping round to stab one in the gut. She quickly surveyed the situation; Volstagg was currently fighting two of the fiery enemies, but was fairing perfectly well against them. Hogun had just taken down a Fire Demon with his mace and was preparing to take down another. Fandral was showing off as usual, but thankfully, not in a way that would injure him, and he took down his opponent with ease. Thor, as usual, was beating his enemies into submission with Mjolnir, which was now being spun by the God of Thunder. The guards seemed to be fairing fine, although they were more focused on defence rather than offence. That just left Loki, who seemed to be very out of breath and his forehead was covered in sweat. Sif frowned at this; she knew Loki was way more of a sorcerer than he was a warrior, but he had never tired this quickly before, even when he was fighting multiple enemies at close range. Then Sif realised that the temperature in the room must be almost unbearable for Loki, because he was a Frost Giant and since she found the temperature very hot, she figured the heat may be physically hurting the God of Mischief.

Loki staggered backwards after blocking an attack from a Fire Demon; he knew that he didn't have Thor's strength, but he should have been able to take that blow a lot better than he did. He blocked another blow, but was knocked to the floor in the process. He tried to get up, but the Fire Demon just knocked him down again. It brought its sword up to strike Loki through the heart, but that action was stopped by Sif, who struck the fiery enemy though the gut with her staff. She made sure that it was dead, before offering her hand out to Loki, who took it and was pulled up by the Goddess of War, panting a little. "Thanks," he said.

"You're welcome," Sif replied. She watched Loki pant a little, before going to pick up his staff, "You can't take the heat, can you?" she asked with genuine concern.

Loki walked a few steps past her, before taking one of his throwing knives from his belt, enchanting it and throwing it at one of the few remaining Fire Demons, and summoning it back so it was sheathed on his belt, "Whatever gave you that idea?"

"You are tiring quicker than you usually do, even by your standards," Sif explained.

Loki laughed a little, "You never have tired of criticizing my techniques in battle have you, Lady Sif?"

Sif impaled a Fire Demon with her double bladed staff, "I merely state what is true."

Loki scoffed, "_Really?_"

"Yes," said Sif.

The God of Mischief sighed and watched Thor dispatch of the last three Fire Demons by throwing Mjolnir at them.

Odin stood up from his place on the throne; he had not anticipated this attack, but he didn't join in with the battle either, since he knew that it would be easily taken care of. He also wanted to see if Loki had improved his fighting skills and his magic, which he had and Odin knew that his choice to release Loki and give him Fróðleikr was a good decision. He could see that the hate had gone from his son's heart, but he knew this since his outburst earlier, in which he pleaded for death. Odin had seen right through that lie like it was a window and seeing Loki fight like this had just confirmed his loss of hate.

There was one thing that concerned the Allfather though and that was the God of Mischief's weakness to the heat that had consumed the room. He knew that it would become troublesome for the young God if it happened again. He also worried that the people would find out about Loki's heritage; only the royal family and those closest to them knew that he was a Frost Giant, but his weakness in battle could be covered up by telling the people that it was Loki's imprisonment that weakened him, but that would only happen if the people questioned it.

"Guards, I would like you, The Warriors Three and the Lady Sif to escort the people out of the throne room and protect them from any potential threats," upon Odin's command, the mentioned people began carrying out their orders. "Thor, Loki, you two will accompany me to the Bifrost Bridge," the two brothers nodded and walked out of the throne room with the Allfather. The king and the two princes then made their way to the end of the newly reconstructed Bifrost.

* * *

"Heimdall, do you know how the Fire Demons entered Asgard?" Odin asked, as he walked up to the all-seeing gatekeeper.

"I'm afraid I do not, my lord. They must have shrouded themselves from my gaze with some form of spell, like the one that Prince Loki has used in the past," said Heimdall.

Odin and Thor looked at Loki, before Thor spoke up, "But how did the Fire Demons enter Asgard? Surely not even their finest Sorcerer has enough power to transport one of them to Asgard, let alone thirty of them."

"There are other ways to travel the nine realms," said Loki, "In a certain part of each realm, save for Asgard there is a weak spot, which makes transportation through the realms with the aid of magic a lot easier. Midgard, being the middle realm, has the most of these spots."

Thor and Odin seemed to understand, while Heimdall remained neutral. The God of Thunder suddenly thought of something; the Fire Demons of Muspelheim are not ones who normally send a weak force to a realm, hoping to do damage. The only reason they would attack Asgard like this, is to distract Heimdall and the Asgardians from an attack on another realm; a realm like Midgard. "Is Midgard under attack from the Fire Demons, Heimdall?"

The gatekeeper paused for a second and then answered, "Yes."

"Then we must go to Midgard!" Thor said, stepping into the Bifrost, ready to be sent to Earth "Come, Loki."

The God of Mischief looked at his brother with a confused look, "Brother, in case you have forgotten, I tried to rule Midgard a year ago, I'm not sure they'll take me being back so kindly."

"They will see that you are redeeming yourself, Loki. I'm sure they will hold nothing against you for that," Thor said, trying to persuade Loki to come with him.

The younger God thought for a second, before replying, "You want me to travel to Midgard with you, to save the mortals?" Loki asked. Thor nodded, "Very well… it should be a bit of fun at least."

Loki stepped forward and stood beside Thor. The two brothers then waited for Heimdall to activate the Bifrost.

Heimdall placed his sword inside the control unit for the Bifrost. As it activated, Odin spoke up to his sons, "Stay safe, both of you." Odin said. "And Loki," the mentioned son looked over his shoulder at Odin, "Don't cause too much mischief."

Loki smiled a genuine smile, and replied just before the Bifrost sent him and Thor to earth, "No promises… father."

And with that, the two Odinsons were whisked away by the Bifrost.

* * *

Finally! This is my very first Avengers fic, I hope it's up to scratch with some of the others and that it satisfies you. I would like to say that there is not relationship between Loki and Sif other that friendship in this fic and the other Avengers should be coming in in the next chapter. Once again I hope you enjoyed this and thank you very much for reading.

One last thing, I haven't read the comics and most of my ways of portraying of characters/events are completely made up and if you continue reading, you'll see how.

Please leave a review and let me know what you think.


	2. Some assembly required

Avengers Assemble: Loki's Redemption

Chapter 2: Some assembly required

Thor and Loki felt the power of the Bifrost pull them in to the gateway to Earth. They both jerked forward before being pulled into the rainbow portal and sent shooting towards the south west corner of the United States. A dark, tornado-like blast, hit the dusty and barren desert plains of New Mexico, causing a very large dust cloud to surround the landing site. Rainbow colours flashed vividly, looking like they were inside the tornado, standing out even though it was very light out.

Once the dust cloud cleared, the two Odinsons were faced with the great desert plains of New Mexico. The sun stood high in the pale blue sky; its intense heat pounded down on all those unfortunate enough to be outside. Glancing around, Loki could see nothing but a flat plain of land, which was decorated with a few cacti and some very tall mountains, somewhere off in the far distance. The heat that was radiating from the sun was bothering him slightly, but it wasn't anything he wasn't used to; he'd had to bare hotter weather on Asgard and he could do so on Earth.

The two Gods were now faced with the task of traversing fifty miles of the desert, just to get to the nearest town, which of course was where Jane Foster lived. Thankfully, Thor had a plan that would make sure they wouldn't have to walk the distance; that plan, was Mjolnir. Unfortunately for Loki, Thor had not told him of this plan.

Meanwhile, the God of Mischief was wondering how they were going to find out which part of Midgard was being attacked. He knew there were many very different regions in this realm and that depending on the region, news could either travel fast or slow. He just hoped that wherever Midgard was being attacked wasn't too far from where the Bifrost landing site was; he didn't feel up for travelling a long way, even more so in this heat. "Thor, how are we even going to find out where the attack is taking place? Surely you know of Midgard's many regions?" Loki asked.

Thor turned to look at his brother, "Do you not remember this place brother? It has been not two years since we were last here, since you sent The Destroyer to attack the town that is situated nearby."

"You do not need to remind me of _that, _brother," said Loki, with a very slight dark tone in his voice, "But yes, I remember this place now."

"Good. To answer your question, we will go to the town that Jane Foster lives in. Maybe she can point us in the right direction," said Thor.

Loki glanced around again; he saw no form of strange mortal transport to get them to the town and he was _not_ going to walk there, "And how do you suggest we get there, Thor. I for one am not walking fifty miles of the desert to get there."

Thor took a few steps forward and looked out into the distance, as if he could see the town from where he was standing, which even he couldn't do. The only one who could was Heimdall, "We are going to fly there," he said casually.

The God of Mischief looked mortified at this and bad memories resurfaced, "On second thought, I think I'll walk," Loki said, backing away from Thor. He had always hated flying around by Mjolnir and he certainly didn't want to now.

Thor chuckled before turning to look at the younger God, "Scared brother? Come on, there is nothing to fear."

Loki gave the God of Thunder a questioning look, "_Nothing to fear?_ Thor, the last time I _willingly_ allowed you to seize hold of my collar and let my fly with you being the only thing stopping me from falling to the ground, we ended up being chased by a dragon and then you dropped me."

"Loki, you know that was an accident and I did catch you did I not?" Thor asked, although some guilt was detectable in his voice.

"I was nearly consumed by a fire breathing dragon," the God of Mischief argued.

Thor sighed, "Yes, but that was over two hundred years ago; I was wild and reckless then-"

"You are wild and reckless now," Loki pointed out.

"No I'm not," Loki raised an eyebrow, "Not as wild and reckless as I used to be," Thor sighed again; there was no use arguing with his brother over something so petty and besides, they needed to find out what part of Earth was being attacked, "Anyway, we have talked to much, brother. Come, we must find Jane Foster."

"Wait…" Loki paused and looked around, sensing something.

"What is it, brother?" Thor asked. He looked around for any foe that may be near.

Once Loki was sure of whatever he had seemed to be sensing, he answered, "I sense magic. Can you not feel it? I could not a few minutes ago, but I can now, even if it is the smallest trace…" Being more adapted in the art of magic than Thor, Loki had always had a talent for sensing it relatively quickly, even over long distances.

Thor heightened his senses for a few moments and then he felt it; there defiantly was a trace of magic, but it was hundreds of miles away, "Yes, I feel it now, but I cannot pinpoint its location."

"Somewhere straight ahead… I would also guess that the Fire Demons are the cause of it; their power has grown over the years…" Loki drifted off in thought.

"We must go to the source, many lives could be in danger," The God of Thunder began spinning Mjolnir, ready to take off; the air around the two Gods became clouded with dust due to the sheer force and speed that the legendary hammer was spinning at. Thor then walked over to Loki, grabbed hold of the back of his collar and prepared to take off.

The God of Mischief snapped out of his thoughts, "No, Thor!" Loki exclaimed as he was lifted into the air and carried off by the God of Thunder.

* * *

On the rare occasion that Anthony Edward Stark did go to sleep, that meaning that he was sleeping in his bed and not at his computer or workbench half way through a cup of coffee and working on one of his suits, or taking part in private activates in the middle of the night, he hated getting up in the morning. On these occasions, what he happened to hate even more, was having to get up _early. _

So when he happened to get a call from Nick Fury, it was answered by Pepper, who told him that Tony was still asleep. Big mistake, because that only made Fury instruct her to, "Get Stark's lazy ass out of bed and tell him to suit up and get over to S.H.I.E.L.D's new base of operations right now," he naturally wasn't very happy.

"Come on, Tony, you have to get up," Pepper said to the 'pretending to be sleeping' form under the mass of covers.

There came a muffled reply, which sounded vaguely like, 'five more minutes.'

Pepper sighed, _why does he have to be so difficult sometimes? _She asked herself. "Tony if you don't get up right now, I'm not doing your paperwork for you," she threatened.

That certainly got the genius up and out of bed very quickly, because we all know how much Tony Stark hates paperwork, "Alright, I'm up…" he said sleepily, getting out of bed. He dragged himself over to his wardrobe, scratching his head in the process. If you didn't know better, you would have thought that he was suffering from a severe hangover, but no, this was how Tony Stark was when he woke up after a moderately good night's sleep. He pulled on a plain white T-shirt, a pair of socks and a pair of trainers, struggling to do up the laces a bit. He stood up to his full height (which wasn't all that tall) and walked out of his bedroom followed by Pepper.

Reaching the main living space of Stark Tower, Tony stopped and turned to face his assistant/sectary/advisor/girlfriend who mainly considers herself his babysitter, "You wouldn't really have made me do all that paperwork, would you?"

"Do I make idle threats?" Pepper questioned.

Tony opened it mouth but then quickly shut it again. After a moment's thought, he held the index finger of his right hand up and pointed it at Pepper, "Good point." He turned back around and started walking again, "So, what did Fury want? Does he want to assemble the super-secret boy band again or something?"

Pepper followed Tony, "Well something must be happening if he wants you suit up; it did sound like they were having some trouble over the phone so-"

"So they called the most good looking hero around to come to the rescue and typically it was on his day off when they called. Why does that always happen?" Tony asked himself. He turned to face Pepper when he reached the door that lead out to his landing pad, "If anyone calls, tell them I'm not in."

Pepper sighed, "Make sure you're careful out there," there was a small detectable tone of worry in her voice, even though she was trying to mask her concern for the genius.

"Hey, I always am," Tony said backing out of the door and on to the pathway to the landing pad.

"Even though you piggy-backed a nuke into outer space?" Pepper jokingly called after him.

"That was a one off," Tony replied. He stepped onto the landing pad and watched his armour build itself around his body, hearing it click together. Once the process was complete, he gave a quick two fingered salute to Pepper and then took off and headed towards the new S.H.I.E.L.D base, which was in the same location as the previous one… they had just rebuilt everything on top of it.

* * *

"Does anyone know what the hell these things are and where they are coming from?" Nick Fury yelled at the S.H.I.E.L.D Agents while shooting a Fire Demon along with most of them. He was currently using a stack of crates as cover from the onslaught of flaming arrows that were being fired at S.H.I.E.L.D personnel with unrelenting force and the great sword strikes that the seemingly limitless force of Fire Demons were unleashing in an attempt to destroy any life they could. So far, the had been no casualties, but there were several injured and the Director new that it was only a matter of time before his Agents started to tire and get themselves killed.

Up on a platform pathway about ten meters above him and to the left, Director Fury could see Agent Clint Barton firing his specialized arrows at the Fire Demons, with insanely precise accuracy. He was receiving a lot of attention in return, but this was mainly dealt with by Agent Natasha Romanoff, who was on the opposite side of the walkway, with both of her guns trained on the fiery entities, since she couldn't take them out with hand to hand because they were literally on fire. Fury reminded himself to check how that was possible later.

Agent Maria Hill ran up and took cover next to Fury, dodging a few arrows in the process by dive rolling out of the way, "Sir, the lookout team stationed in New Mexico have sent a report," Hill stood up slightly and leaned on the crates, using the support to fire a few deadly shots at the flaming enemies.

Fury leaned out to the side of the crates, shooting two of the Fire Demons in the head, while asking, "Well then what the hell is the report?"

Reloading her gun and then getting ready to fire again, Agent Hill answered, "The Bifrost was activated about ten minutes ago, they think they saw Thor flying away from the landing site and heading in this direction. They aren't entirely sure, because he was flying too fast, but they think that he might have company as well. From what they could tell, they think he's heading in this direction."

Clint had picked up on what Hill had told Fury and was now looking slightly confused, "Thor? Why would he be back?" He pulled another arrow from the quiver on his back and notched it onto the bowstring, before quickly pulling it back and bringing his hand to rest just under his jaw, with his thumb resting on the edge of his jawline. He then released the arrow and it hit a Fire Demon in the back of the neck and it turned to ash once it had died. He pulled out another arrow and repeated the same process, this time rolling to the side before releasing the arrow, as he had to avoid a flaming arrow that was considerably longer and thicker than his own.

Meanwhile, Natasha used her high vantage point to her advantage and shot all of the Fire Demons that were trying to attack two Agents that were just below her in the head, before reloading and dodging a few flaming arrows that were sent her way in retaliation and killing the offending enemies. Unlike her partner in what could be considered crime, Natasha kept entirely focused on what she was doing until she received orders to do otherwise.

"That doesn't matter for now, Agent Barton. What matters is getting rid of these aliens," The Director instructed. He looked over at another stack of crates and saw none other than Agent Phil Coulson taking cover while he reloaded his gun. In truth, the S.H.I.E.L.D Agent had died shortly after Loki stabbed him with his sceptre a year ago, but he had only been dead for a total of two minutes before the medical team had managed to revive him. He had then spent the next month out cold in a coma, before he woke up and learnt everything that had happened. Two months after that, Fury deemed him fit to come back into action and the Agent hadn't stopped working since. "Coulson!" the Director called. The Agent looked over, "I want you to call Captain Rogers; tell him to get over here ASAP."

"I'm on it, Sir," The Agent replied. He quickly retreated to a safer distance and dialled Steve's home number.

"Agent Redgrave and Agent Yates, I want you two to find a way outside, get in a pickup truck and go and get Captain Steve Rogers from his apartment. Take the back exit and be careful," Fury ordered.

"Yes Sir," the two Agents responded before making their way to the back door as quickly as they could without being seen. If they were spotted at all, then the S.H.I.E.L.D base could be destroyed again because the Fire Giants came after them. They hurried outside into the car park, where even more mayhem was taking place and got into the nearest pickup truck and began to drive to Steve's apartment.

Fury watched the two Agents leave, before pulling out his phone to call none other than Tony Stark so he could find out where the hell he was and why he was taking so damn long.

* * *

Captain Steven Rogers, also known as Captain America, had just returned from the local Gym, where he had almost gone through all of the punching bags available, just to get his usual workout. It didn't matter all that much though, because S.H.I.E.L.D owned that Gym and they always made sure that the equipment was replaced regularly, since the super solider had a tendency to accidently break the equipment while using it, which is why he didn't use the machines anymore and just went running instead.

He had just opened the door when he heard his house phone start to ring. Sighing, he dropped his backpack on the floor. Since he had been awake from his icy prison for just over a year now, he was more accustomed to modern technology, such as things like using a phone, a credit card (which he barely used, but it was good to know) and a TV, which again he didn't really use and when he did, he only watched the news.

His apartment was quite large, considering he was the only one living in it. Obviously it had all that basic living needs and a few gadgets and alarms installed by S.H.I.E.L.D, but apart from that it was quite plain and empty. Steve hadn't really thought about decorating the place that much, since he spent most of his time outside of his apartment, either training, riding his bike around to see what had changed and occasionally he visited Tony Stark in his tower, who he had come to have a friendship with, despite their initial disagreements a year ago.

He found that Tony was a lot like his father in more ways than he was sure the genius knew about. He definitely had the player attitude that Howard had; only it was slightly worse. He had his desire to create a better future and leave behind the best legacy possible, much like Howard. But above all, he was not only a genius, but he was considerably smarter than Howard had been, if that was possible. He had voiced these things to Tony and told him what he knew about his father. The genius had waved this off initially, claiming that the man Steve was talking about wasn't his father, but he soon remembered the message that Howard had left for him on the tape Fury had given him and eventually came to accept what the super solider had told him.

He walked into his living room and picked up the phone, "Hello?" he asked.

"Captain Rogers, this is Agent Phil Coulson, we need you to suit up and come in. A pickup truck will be arriving at your location in fifteen minutes, we need you to be ready by then so you can come in as soon as possible," Coulson said, before Steve even had the slightest chance to ask what was going on.

In the background of Coulson's voice, the super solider could here gunshots and inhuman shrieks, "Coulson, what's going on?" he asked in a hurried tone.

On the other end of the line, the S.H.I.E.L.D Agent poked his head out from behind the steel box he using for cover and saw the fight between the Agents and the Fire Demons, "We have a security breach from an unknown hostile; we don't know what species they are, but they are literally on fire, it looks like they emit it in some way. It's pretty hot in here just to warn you. The outside is also filled with them, so you're going to have to fight your way in. You can't touch them either or get that near them without feeling like you're in an oven, so you'll have to take them out from a distance."

"Understood, I'll be there as soon as I can," Steve put the phone down and quickly went to suit up and get his shield. Fifteen minutes later, he spotted a pickup truck making its way down the street. He quickly went outside and climbed into the back before it had the chance to stop completely and soon he was on his way to the S.H.I.E.L.D base.

* * *

Tony Stark was around three quarters of the way to S.H.I.E.L.D's base of operations while flying in his suit when his AI spoke, "_You have an incoming call from Director Fury, Sir," _J.A.R.V.I.S sounded in his robotic sounding English accent. An image of Fury came up to the left side of the display inside of the Mark VIII suit, along with his name.

Tony put on a confused look, "Fury? What does he want? I'm already on my way there. Jarvis tell him I'm not in… wait, scratch that, I thought I told Pepper to tell anyone who called that I wasn't in?" was the genius's reply. He really didn't want to talk to Fury and get an earful of his… well, fury because he wasn't there yet.

_"I'm afraid that Miss Potts already has informed him of that sir. Director Fury must have made the assumption that if you were not in the tower, then you must be out and on your way there." _the AI explained.

Sighing, Tony then said, "Jarvis, make a note to keep an eye on Fury; that man is too smart for his own good. Also, put him on the line."

_"Very well, Sir."_

After a couple of seconds, Tony was greeted by the tone of Fury's voice and he sounded stressed and angry, "Stark, are you there or are you still too lazy to drag your ass over here?"

"I'm nearly there; Pepper only managed to get me out of bed ten minutes ago since you called on the one day I actually wanted some sleep. Keep your… actually no that joke won't work because you don't _have _any hair," Tony replied.

A long and frustrated sigh came from Fury's end of the line, "Stark, quit with the jokes, this is serious. We are under attack from some kind of alien force here; they have swarmed the entire base-"

"Yeah, yeah, let me cut you off right there; I'm here. I can see what's going on and whoa, are those things really on fire?" Tony asked himself, "How is that possible, I mean I know they're aliens-" Tony began circling the air space above the battle. He saw a lot of aliens down there, that were clearly visible because they were on fire. He could also make out a few Agents, but mainly the whole place was completely filled with Fire Demons, not that Tony knew what they were, of course.

"Stark-" Fury's first attempt at getting the genius to stop rambling; it didn't work.

Tony continued talking to himself "But surely that should be impossible, even if they have different biology to us-"

"Stark!" This time, the Director managed to get the genius' attention.

"Yes, dear?" Tony answered.

Fury pinched the bridge of his nose, "Stop rambling and start fighting!" He yelled and then hung up.

"Jarvis," Tony started.

_"Yes, Sir?" The AI sounded. _

"Remind me to not anger Fury too often or we may have another Hulk running rampage."

_"Will do, Sir." _

Tony landed and started firing blasts from his repulsors at the Fire Demons, turning a fair few to ash, before his suit was struck with a flaming arrow, which to his surprise, left quite a dent in his armour and he felt the heat off of the arrow too. Suddenly, he found himself swarmed by five of the fiery enemies and he could have sword that he felt his armour starting to melt due to the sheer heat. He was distracted for a moment, which left him vulnerable to an attack.

One of the Fire Demons surrounding him raised its flaming sword and was about to bring it down to strike him, when it was knocked out by a feet by a red, white and blue shield that bounced back to its owner after hitting the foe. The Captain caught his prized shield and ran over to join Tony, who had regained focus and blasted the other four Fire Demons to ash.

"You're late, Capsicle," said Tony.

Steve ignored the genius's remark and instead said, "Don't get too close to them, Coulson told me that these things emit fire over the phone," He threw his shield and it ricocheted off of six Fire Demons' heads, knocking them out cold, before returning to him. Once he caught the shield, he could feel that it was burning hot even through his leather gloves.

"Since when did you learn how to use a phone?" Tony joked, while blasting another two Fire Demons to ash.

Steve sighed, "Very funny, Stark."

Tony took off and started blasting from the air, "Yeah, I know right?"

"You just don't know when to quit with the comments, do you?"

"Now why would I do that?"

At the other side of the base, the S.H.I.E.L.D Agents, including, Nick Fury, Maria Hill, Natasha Romanoff, Clint Barton and Phil Coulson (first name Agent) had managed to somehow push the Fire Demon's forces out into the car park, so in theory, they should have more space to move around, but they were still swarmed by the fiery enemies and a lot of the Agents looked ready to pass out.

At the head of the Agents, were Natasha and Clint, who had both managed to pick up extra ammo and arrows and they were now trying to fend off most of the Fire Demons by themselves, with only a small amount of covering fire.

As she shot two Fire Demons in the head, Natasha looked over to the side and saw a Fire Demon getting very close to Barton, who was pulling another arrow out of his quiver. She shot it in the head and the archer looked at her with an eyebrow raised, "That one counts as mine." He said, before going back to shooting them.

"I didn't know we were having a competition," Natasha said.

"We are now," Clint replied with a smirk.

Neither of them wanted to admit that they knew they were being pushed back and that the heat was unbearable, but they both knew it very well. Soon they were nearly beginning to be overrun and the Fire Demons continued to come dangerously close to the pair.

Steve and Tony noticed this however and began to make their way over to the Agents, "Stark, flank them from the left side, I'll take the right," The super solider ordered.

"Got it," Tony replied.

Before either of them even had the chance to get over to the Agents, a clap of Thunder sounded and echoed throughout the area. Everyone looked up and saw a figure wearing a red cape and Asgardian armour land in front of Natasha and Clint and smash his hammer on the ground, creating a ripple effect, not unlike that which could be found when one disturbed still, unmoving water, which rose the ground and caused it to smash into some of the Fire demons, while knocking all of the others away from the Agents by quite a few meters. The lightning that had been summoned at the time that Thor smashed his hammer on the ground, struck well over half of the fiery foes, turning them to ash instantly.

Another figure landed just a second after Thor. He had landed on top of a Fire Demon, but had impaled it with his staff first, so he didn't get scorched. He looked up, smiling a little maniacally and then rose to his full height, wearing a black trench coat with a hint of dark, emerald green. He pulled his staff out of the ground and turned around to smash it into the face of the Fire Demon behind him. At the same time; he took out a throwing knife and finished the Fire Demon with it, before summoning the weapon back to his belt. Loki then fired a few blue energy blasts from his spear, taking a few out and turning them to dust, before Thor joined him by his side and they began fighting the remaining enemies back to back.

Using his mighty hammer, Mjolnir, the God of Thunder smashed a Fire Demon in the chest, before back handing another in the jaw. A sickening crunch that signalled the jaw was broken could be heard before the foe turned to ash right before his eyes and he found another enemy to destroy. "It is a good thing that we got here just in time brother. Any longer and I do not wish to think what may have happened," Thor said, while Throwing Mjolnir at the Fire Demons, killing several of them.

"Indeed, Thor," Loki replied a little out of breath already; the area here was a lot hotter than the throne room had been in Asgard and he already had beads of sweat running down his forehead. He ducked a flaming blade and then side rolled out of the way of another one, before swiping his staff in a semi-circle shape and killing the two Flaming entities with the two blades on the end of the staff. He pulled out a throwing knife and threw it at one of the remaining Fire Demons and then summoning it back to his belt.

The S.H.I.E.L.D Agents, Tony and Steve just stared, dumbfounded at what was going on. They were relieved obviously that Thor had arrived when he had and that the aliens were almost taken care of, but they also couldn't believe the fact that they were seeing the God of Mischief with him. What shocked them more was that he was fighting not only with Thor, but seemingly on their side as well. After all of them had received these initial thoughts, they then remembered that Loki was a criminal that they had defeated last year and he was captured and taken back to Asgard, which just left one though that was shared between all of the spectators; _what the hell is he doing back? _

Once the final few Fire Demons had been taken care of, courtesy of Thor's hammer, Fury snapped out of his initial shock, "All Agents, surround Loki immediately!" he yelled. In all honesty, he hadn't needed to, because the Agents were moving to do it, including Tony and Steve before he had even opened his mouth. They formed a circle around the God of Mischief and the God of Thunder who was still next to his brother, aiming their guns at Loki.

Natasha Romanoff stepped forward along with Clint, both of them keeping their weapons trained on the God. Fury stepped over to join them, "Loki, put the staff down," he said sternly.

Thor made to protest, but Loki held up a hand before he could. He raised his left hand in a surrendering manor and put his staff, Fróðleikr on the ground gently, before raising both hands in surrender.

"And the throwing knives too," Clint ordered. He had an arrow ready to fly straight in to the God's eye socket if he tried anything.

Slowly, Loki removed the belt of throwing knifes and placed it on the ground, then raised his hands again. His face was completely neutral, but inside he was laughing at how cautious the mortals were being. He didn't really blame them; he had tried to take their realm for own after all, but hadn't he just saved them along with Thor from the threat of the Fire Demons? Surely that would make them slightly less nervous… or would it? For all they knew, he could suddenly turn on them, even though he wasn't going to, but they didn't know that and he was the God of Mischief and called the Trickster for a reason.

"Agents Hill, Coulson, Barton and Romanoff stay here, the rest of you get the Quinjets ready; we're leaving for the Helicarrier in ten minutes," Fury ordered, "There will be no excuse for being late."

The Agents immediately scrambled away, getting supplies and whatnot, preparing to depart. The mentioned Agents, however, kept their weapons trained on the God of Mischief, while glaring at him and if looks could kill, well, let's just say the Trickster may not be around if that could happen. Thor stood by, very unsure of what to do.

* * *

Here's the second chapter, I hope you like it! Took me ages to get round to and I feel like that first chapter was a lot better, oh well.

Please leave a review and tell me what you think, but only if you want to.


	3. Keep your friends close

Avengers Assemble: Loki's Redemption

Chapter 3: Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer

Odin stood out on the balcony that leads away from the banquet hall, overlooking the Golden city of Asgard; casting his one-eyed gaze over the gleaming great towers and the golden spirals alike. Many of the guard were still cleaning up the mess that had been made in the grand throne room and the citizens were fortunate to not be hurt and they were relieved to the fact that the Fire Demons had only been in the palace and no more of them were lurking in the city. The Allfather's one good eye was distant and unfocused on anything and he was seemingly in very deep thought about something. Something that was most likely related to his sons, still only boys in this eye, but men in looks and at heart. He heard the light, elegant footsteps of someone approaching, but did not turn to see who this person may be, for he already knew.

Frigga walked up to the brooding Odin and stood beside him, taking in the spectacular view of the sun shining down upon the city. The sea was calm, a good sign for the fortune of Thor and Loki in the eyes of Frigga. But she could sense the clouds stirring in the east, bringing a great storm to rival even that of Thor's with them. War, suffering and death was in the air and a victory would require a struggle on either side.

In their many years of living, all of the royal family has never gotten used to the view they had from the palace, since it was so breath taking. Not even Odin and Frigga, who had lived far longer than Thor and Loki, had even grown just a tiny bit used to the view. It was a reminder of how appreciative they all were of their positions in Asgard, even if they sometimes misused them a little. "You told Loki, that he was the greatest sorcerer in the Nine Realms. You have not said such a thing for over a century…" There was a pause as Frigga pondered over her next words carefully before continuing, "Were you trying to give him the love he thought he had almost always been denied?" the Queen asked.

The Allfather sighed; from the moment that he had told Loki such a thing when he was giving the God his new staff, Fróðleikr, Odin had a sneaking suspicion that Frigga would question what he had said later on when they were alone, "Partly, yes, but also because he has long since surpassed myself in the Art of sorcery."

The Queen nodded with understanding; she knew all too well how much Loki's talent and power with magic had grown over the centuries, along with many who could detect magic and those who had seen him use it in battle. The reason was, those who could sense magic would be able to feel that the God of Mischief constantly emitted it in vast amounts that could even rival the Odinforce. Of course, Thor also emits magic and he can sense it, but on a very small scale. So small in fact, that only someone with a powerful sense for magic could detect it. Examples of these people are Odin, Frigga or Loki.

Yet what Frigga could not see, what Odin's hidden motive for sending his youngest son to the Realm of Midgard and it certainly was not because he wanted Loki to redeem himself. No, Odin was being far more deceptive than that. But the one who he was trying to deceive would not fall for it so easily, and he knew this.

Everyone knew that before Loki was found by the Allfather after the great war against the Frost Giants ended that Odin was the greatest sorcerer in the Nine Realms, but that was soon changed when the young God was found. It was soon discovered that Loki could perform magic, although it was very weak, from only a month after he was found, "He surpassed us all in that Art so long ago, but we were blind to see what should have been as clear as day."

"No… you were not blind, Frigga, but I was. I often almost completely disregarded Loki's talents until I walked in on him practicing an Illusion spell… and even then I did not pay as much attention as I should have." Odin turned to face Frigga; a deep frown was etched onto his face, "Loki has the greatest mind that Asgard has ever known, yet in the past three centuries, no one but you and Thor have been able to see that."

The Queen grabbed Odin's hands and held them in her own. A silent plea clung to her eyes; a plea for him not to blame himself as much as he was, for it was not right to do so. She voiced her opinion as soon as she was sure that she had the King's full attention, "You must not blame yourself like this; you did see Loki's greatness, I know you did, but right now, the only thing you can recall is the bad of what happened… and you are starting to change your memories so they seem to present you neglecting Loki. I am sure that is happening to everyone else as well." Frigga's words spoke the absolute truth and Odin knew this very well, but he still found it hard to believe.

"I know…" Odin turned to look over the city once again, his look neutral, "Loki holds so much potential power within him and he does even know it."

* * *

Now aboard the Helicarrier, The Avengers –minus Bruce- were gathered around the large black table on the bridge. The buzzing sounds of various computers and the medium-volume chatter filled the room and made its way into the surrounding corridors as well as the ever alert ears of various Agents and The Avengers, except Tony, because he was only alert when he wanted to be (right now wasn't one of those times.) There was a smell of cleanliness in the atmosphere of the air, similar to that of a hospital, but this was mostly masked by the air conditioning that blew from various places around the area. The blue, almost hologram, screens flickered brightly and were ever changing in what they displayed, due to the sheer speed that the Agents were typing at.

Right now, The Avengers, while gathered around the black table on the bridge, along with Agent Coulson and Nick Fury and they were yet to discuss anything of the predicament they were in. Steve, Tony, Natasha and Clint were all sitting in that large, comfy leather chairs, while Thor and Coulson stood, the former pondering greatly over the situation. Fury was standing at the head of the table with his hands clasped behind his back. He decided that he'd had enough of the silence and made the decision to break it by glancing at Thor, directing the question that everyone had held in their minds at him, "So do you want to tell me why Loki is back on Earth? Because from the stunt you two pulled back there, I'm guessing he's not an escaped prisoner, so why is he back?"

Speaking of the God of Mischief, he had been placed in one of the holding cells on board the Helicarrier, with ten Agents in there with him, all pointing machine guns at his head. Since they didn't have a more 'secure' place to hold him, the Agents were under order to –and this is quoted directly from Fury himself- "Empty a clip in his ass if he tries anything."

Loki had been escorted on to a separate Quinjet from Thor and everyone else by the same load of Agents. His staff and throwing knifes were taken aboard the Quinjet that had the present Avengers stationed inside it. Not a word had been said for the duration of the journey, except from the odd order that was given. Once they had landed, the younger God had immediately been escorted to a cell and had been there for around half an hour. Everyone else, meanwhile, had gone to the bridge.

They had also taken Loki's staff and throwing knives with them, which were currently laid out on the black table. Everyone except Thor kept giving the staff cautious glances, because they all remember what happened the last time he had a weapon and it was brought on board.

Thor glanced up at the Director; he had been looking at the table and knew he had caused some sort of worry among the mortals. This saddened him a little because he didn't take pleasure in putting people on edge, unless they were his enemies of course, then he would do so immediately, "Myself and Loki came to aid you in the attack," Thor explained.

"He came of his own free will?" Fury questioned.

"Yes, he came to help you because he wished to," Thor confirmed.

Tony then decided to interrupt, "Wait, so you're saying that tall, dark and evil came here to help us because he _wanted_?" The Genius asked disbelievingly, "I find that _very_ hard to believe. Also, I thought you'd locked him up in fantasy land or something like that, so care to tell why he's out and about?"

It was then Steve decided to contribute something to the conversation, "Tony's right, Thor. It doesn't seem right for Loki to want to actually help up us."

The Thunderer was quite for a few moments, before he sighed heavily and spoke, "Loki was released earlier this day by my father. He has been forgiven for his actions in Asgard and has served his sentence."

Fury narrowed his eye and looked straight at Thor, "What was his punishment?" He asked in an interrogating tone.

"He was imprisoned under the palace for a year, stripped of his magic," Thor answered, knowing that the mortals would disapprove of the punishment. He had a feeling that they would think imprisonment too lenient a punishment and he was in fact right.

"That's hardly a fitting punishment for what he did," Natasha said, looking up at the God and meeting his gaze.

A new voice echoed throughout the room as a new person joined the discussion, "On the contrary, Miss Romanoff, it was more than a fitting punishment," the Trickster himself contributed as he strolled into full view of everyone. He instantly caused uproar. Every S.H.I.E.L.D Agent present on the bridge that had a gun reached for it and aimed at the God of Mischief. Loki was unfazed by the actions of the mortals and just continued to pace forward, "A year's imprisonment had given me time to contemplate my 'actions' as it were." The Silver Tongue was beginning to come out into the discussion already, not that the others new this of course. This time however, he would be using his way with words to articulate himself, rather than to reform the words of others. He turned to catch the gaze of his brother and spoke to him first, "Thor, the term 'stripped' is an ill-fitting description of the apparent absence of my magic over the last year."

"Then what would you call it?" Fury questioned. He was the only one who hadn't reached for his gun upon Loki's appearance and seemed to be quite calm about the situation.

Loki turned his head to the director and smiled suddenly only to have the grin disappear as quickly as it had appeared a few second later, "I would describe my magic as sealed, Fury." The Trickster continued to stalk forward, walking past Agent Coulson as he went, "You see my magic cannot be just taken from me like one would a weapon, because it is a part of my very being. If it were so removed; ripped from my body with extreme force, then all that I am would be taken along with it and I would die a slow and painful death."

"It's a wonder why that didn't happen," Clint said, glaring at the God.

"Indeed it is," Loki mused. He himself suspected something about Odin suddenly releasing him. He had been since it had happened, but the Trickster hadn't thought about it until his arrest by the mortals. That had given him a while to think over the day's events.

He knew that the Allfather was up to something, but he wasn't sure what.

"Getting back to the point," Fury said, trying to make sure that Clint didn't try to stick an arrow in Loki's eye socket _too _soon at least. He had been told that one by Agent Romanoff and he had to admit that it did amuse him slightly to hear it, but right now it was the last thing that anyone wanted to happen… unfortunately. "You seem to disagree with us. After what you did to this world and its people, some may say that your punishment of merely being imprisoned for a year may not be so fitting."

Loki had reached the director by now by taking his slow, over-confident footsteps. He smiled and spoke while walking behind the man, "On its own it may not sound like the most… _fitting_ of punishments… but there are other factors that have to be considered."

"Like what? Did you have the glow stick you had last time confiscated?" Tony said in a sarcastic, false sympathetic tone.

The God of Mischief glanced at him, now nearing Steve as he paced, "You really ought to either remain silent or use remarks that pose some form of amusement or intelligence because at the moment I'm afraid, you are failing to amuse anyone with your comments and they certainly have no true degree of the intelligence that you supposedly have," Loki took great pleasure in saying that to Stark. Out of all the mortals, he may be the most intellectual and possibly the only one he could have an intelligent conversation with, but sometimes the man was very annoying and he could tell even though he had only encountered the genius once. Plus he was doing it to tease him for his own entertainment.

Tony seemed relatively unfazed by this comment on his sense of humour and instead countered with his own remark, "Ouch that burned my pride slightly…" He muttered, before saying, "But let's think about something here; if your comparing my sense of humour to yours… then mine is better any day. And by the way, I have _more _intellect than what you have heard about and a hell of a lot more than you have and will ever have."

Loki opened his mouth to counter, but he was cut off by Fury, "Could we get back to the subject at hand please? You two have barely been talking for two minutes and you're already starting up some banter, which quite frankly I find a little odd since only last year you were fighting one another."

Now that shut them up.

The director sighed; this was going to take a while. "Loki, explain why after what you did, one year's imprisonment seems to be enough."

The God of Mischief stopped and turned to address Fury properly, "Very well," He said, "While locked in the deepest cell of Asgard's deepest dungeon, I had some time to think about what I had done. For the first month, I felt nothing but rage at being beaten in a battle I should have won. I did not speak to anyone, no matter how much they tried to make me talk," Loki met Thor's eyes before continuing, "Yet after that, the rage died down, until eventually I felt slight remorse for my actions."

"Is that it? I was expecting something more to happen to you if it supposedly 'reformed' your personality or the way you view things," Fury said, looking at him closely, trying to pick up any hint of a lie on the Trickster's face.

"And right you are," Loki said, looking at Fury with a slight smile on his face, which soon vanished before he started speaking again, "My magic cannot be taken from me like a weapon; it has to be sealed… yet even when it is sealed, a part of my being is missing from me… a whole half of what keeps me alive. For although it was only sealed, and therefore it would keep me in the realm of the living, I cannot tap into it-"

"Stop speaking in riddles, Loki and get to the point," Steve said. They were getting nowhere like this; it was time to wrap this conversation up and move on to the next one. And the Captain was pretty sure that no one was able to understand if Loki was telling the truth or not. he doubted even the God of Thunder, the Trickster's own adopted brother, could tell the difference. But he most likely knew Loki's punishment already and could tell them if he spoke the truth if the need came to be.

The God of Mischief sighed; it was clearly time to reveal the true gravity of his punishment to the mortals. "Do you know what it feels like to be only half alive? To not be whole?" Loki asked in a sinister voice, "Do you know what it feels like to be half dead? Most likely you all do. Now, take that feeling. That thought. That experience and think about how it would feel to be like that for an entire year; to be neither living nor dead. To have the constant feeling of death, but also life at the same time. Take the thought of having to dwell within the balance of life and death for a year. To have to live with death. Then you will know what my true punishment was and you all have the nerve to think it lenient."

The gleaming emerald of Loki's eyes met Thor's for a second, before the Thunderer turned away in shame, not wanting to face his brother after he had given light to everyone else about his punishment. He knew it was harsh... more so even and that just made it worse, even beyond comprehension for some.

There was silence for around half a minute while everyone thought over what Loki had just said; they had all danced with death on at least one occasion and had been almost tempted to give in to her embrace, but obviously, none of them had done it. The agents of S.H.I.E.L.D and the Avengers all shared one thought in that moment; all of them, even Clint, came to the conclusion that Loki's punishment had obviously not been as lenient as they had first thought.

Fury spoke up after a bit, wanting to break the tension in the air, "Everyone except Loki and Thor go and grab a coffee or something; we'll resume this meeting in ten minutes."

The others seemed reluctant to leave the Director in the company of Loki, but upon receiving the one-eyed glare of death, they contemplated the fact that Thor would be staying, so in theory, he should be fine. They slowly got up from the table and walked out of the room, keeping an eye on the Trickster as they went. Only Agent Coulson and Agent Hill were allowed to remain on the bridge, along with the other Agents, but their job was to keep the Helicarrier in the air and nothing else.

Fury turned to Loki and asked him a couple of questions that he had been meaning to ask for a while, "Now forgive me if I seem a little cautious, but I want to know a couple of things. The first one, is why are you here and if it's not too troubling, I'd like a straight answer. Another thing is we put you in a cell with ten of our finest Agents all pointing machine guns at your head. I'd like to know how you got past them and what has happened to them if you don't mind."

"Why am I here?" Loki said, seeming to ask himself the question. He clasped his hands behind his back and started to pace again, casting a small glance towards his staff and knives, making sure that they had not been damaged. Even though they could not be; when the dwarves made weapons, they made weapons to last for eternity, or at least until the day of Ragnarok. He then went back to contemplating the questions he had been asked, thinking of the right words to answer with, but using a pause for dramatic effect. His words came to his silvertongue naturally, requiring no effort after centuries of refined practice, before flowing off in a perfect script. He could bury a person in riddles while speaking to confuse them, embedding the truth among his lies in such a way that they were believable to any person and this was one of Loki's greatest of gifts. Yet some would also call it a curse. Perhaps even the famed Trickster himself.

Loki's expression would look neutral to most, but to the ones that knew him better than anyone, it was evident that he was considering the fact that he had returned to the very world he had tried to rule and he himself, did not know why. "That is a good question… one to which I do not even know the answer to at this present time. As for your Agents, do not fret. They are merely guarding one of my illusions right now; none of them are harmed in anyway. In fact, they should be discovering it right about now."

As if on que, an Agent came charging through the door looking slightly on edge, "Director Fury, Loki has-" he then caught sight of the God of Mischief. "Escaped..." He finished, unsure of what to make of the situation. He was sure that Fury was extremely aware that a war criminal who just also happened to be the God of Mischief, Magic and Lies was standing just a few metres away from him, seeming to be helping in some way, yet the whole thing appeared surreal and the Agent found the entire prospect bizarre.

"It's fine," Fury began, "He has permission to be here. You can take your unit and have a break until I need you again."

"Yes sir," The Agent replied with a small nod of his head. Giving Loki a wry glance he stepped backwards and turned, before heading out of the door.

As soon as the door slid shut, Loki focused his gaze on the director, who was looking straight at him. Fury then looked at Thor before asking, "Do you two know what those things were back there?" He questioned, looking between the two Gods.

Loki began to pace around the table again, before stopping when he was shoulder to shoulder with his brother, a wearing seemingly serious expression, although his eyes glittered with excitement. Yet this was oblivious to everyone that would have looked at him. Oh the thrill of impending war. Even when unwanted it now brought a shiver of excitement down Loki's spine. The lies he could tell for the benefit of Midgard, all without being reprimanded for it. Priceless. This opportunity was sheer priceless and he would not waste it. He would savour it while it lasted, for it was an event that does not happen often. Not often at all.

"They are the Fire Demons of the Realm Muspelheim. A place of darkness and fire, ruled brutally by one of the most fearsome of foes in the Nine Realms." Loki said, keeping his calm under the ecstasy he was getting from the feeling of war.

"Who?" Fury questioned, eager to know this new enemy of Earth's.

"His name is Surtur and I believe I know why he declares war upon your Realm," Loki explained, a hint of pride flashing across his features.

And the rest was silence.

* * *

So long it has been since I have updated! But, I had exams and I have a lot of coursework/homework to do, so this chapter ended early. No clue when the next one will be here, but I hope it will arrive soon-ish. It's not very good now I look back at it, since it was written but not finished a while ago, but I hope it is enough to satisfy you. Sorry for it being so short.

Thank you for reading!

What are your thoughts for what will happen next?

By the way, please do not pester me to update if you do. Doing so only makes me type slower. Good day everyone!


	4. Explanations and rising tensions

Avengers Assemble: Loki's Redemption

Chapter 4: Explanations and rising tensions

Silence. At this moment in time it clung to the air like a small child to their mother; wishing not to let go and endlessly increasing their grip. Yet silence was an oddity unique to itself; it could be dispelled by ones voice just as easily as it could be instigated. And as the silent air hung on the bridge, everyone looked upon none other than the God of Mischief in surprise to the last thing he had said. Even Thor had raised an inquisitive blonde eyebrow towards his brother, looking on at him with interest as he tried to comprehend why Loki knew such a fact of knowledge. Something that even he was not aware of; the Thunder God knew very well that there were many things they did not know, but such knowledge would have been passed onto him by his father had Odin known. Could that be the answer then? That not even the great Allfather knew what Loki did? Just how much did the mischief maker find out in the year they spent apart and how much would that affect them all? Thor was most certainly a little wary-though he would not tell you this- to find out.

And in all of this silent chaos, the Trickster just merely stood idly in his position, hands clasped behind his back as he took all of the looks in and internally smiled. Oh how he enjoyed it, the mortal's obliviousness to the workings of their very own world and the goings on of other species that do not inhabit their own planet. A year ago, Loki would have referred to this as pathetic naivety and even now, such a thought still probed the back of his mind, but as he looked upon his thoughts, he came to the conclusion that he now thought of the mortals as a people who although primitive in much concerning technology, were slowly becoming more aware of the universe. And how Loki would love to be their educator in this particular matter… yes, he had certainly been right when he had spoken to Thor at the Bifrost…

_ The God of Mischief looked at his brother with a confused look, "Brother, in case you have forgotten, I tried to rule Midgard a year ago, I'm not sure they'll take me being back so kindly."_

_"They will see that you are redeeming yourself, Loki. I'm sure they will hold nothing against you for that," Thor said, trying to persuade Loki to come with him._

_The younger God thought for a second, before replying, "You want me to travel to Midgard with you, to save the mortals?" Loki asked. Thor nodded, "Very well… it should be a bit of fun at least."_

Yes, this was going to be very fun indeed.

"Surtur?" Fury said the name as if he were trying to if he had heard it before and because he was about to question the God of Mischief about such an enemy. But before any of that would happen, he decided to call everyone back in. He turned to Agent Coulson, "Get everyone back in here now; they'll want to hear this."

Coulson soon left for the break room just down the corridor and returned with everyone in around a minute or so. The other Avengers walked in the room with a seemingly alerted air about them, except for Tony, who walked in with a slight swagger and his perfectly straight poker face. Those years of gambling really did pay off after all. They all resumed their seats on the bridge, and some, which meant Tony and Clint, had cups of coffee in their hands, which they soon set on the table.

Of course the two had cups of coffee for different reasons; Stark had a coffee because he was claiming to be tired. Barton on the other hand needed something to keep his thoughts more focused on what people were saying and less focus on his thoughts of sticking an arrow in Loki's eye socket… and wondering how he would do that when his bow was in the break room… dilemma.

Fury looked them over with that menacing one eyed stare of his. Upon evaluating their expressions for a few seconds, he made an assumption, "Looking at your faces I suppose it's not incorrect to assume Stark hacked into the security and you all watched the whole thing happen."

There was a pause that soon ended because of the very man who had hacked the CCTV himself. He held his arms aloft in surrender, "Alright, you got me." He said, before putting his arms down and directing a pointing index finger towards Loki, "So reindeer games, who's this Surtur guy?" He asked, resting his jaw in the palm of his hand and leaning his elbow on the table boredly. He tried to appear so carefree, but deep inside and Loki could see this easily he was just as on edge as everyone else. He was there in the last attack; he was even the one, who stopped it with the nuke arguably, and he knew just what destruction Loki could cause… yet he even thought that the Trickster hadn't shown everything he was capable of in the last attack. Yes, the genius suspected that there was more to this God-both of them even- that met the eye. An eye he would be sparing to keep close watch on the God of Mischief.

Loki looked at Thor and gestured for him to explain, feeling that his part in such a conversation would arrive shortly, but it was not at the present time. Amusement. A look at ghosted the face of the Trickster as he turned to face away from the Avengers with his hands clasped behind his back. He looked upon the others present on the bridge; he knew they kept sparing glances even if they were trying to be discreet or trying to get on with their work. Let them all wonder about Surtur for a while and then bring the reality of the situation crashing upon them. Watch them squirm under such pressures; oh the fun that such things were to him.

Torment. He loved it when he was the instigator.

Glancing at Thor after Loki gestured to him, it was now the turn of the good Captain to speak up, "Thor?" He questioned, wanting an explanation of who Surtur was exactly. Another Asgardian perhaps? No, the Captain doubted that by the slightly grim expression on Thor's face. This was something worse, yet maybe not as powerful as an Asgardian at the true height of their power, this threat was one that even Thor was wary of… they would have to be careful when facing this foe. Yet if this Surtur was not an Asgardian, then he couldn't be a God could he? Surely that worked in their favour in terms of power? Somehow Steve doubted all of this and hoped that things were not as grim as they appeared.

Sighing, the Thunderer looked at the group and crossed his arms, "Surtur is a being who rules the realm of Muspelheim, where the Fire Demons from earlier hail from. He is by far the biggest, strongest and most fearsome of all of them. He and my father are mortal enemies, but Surtur has neither the means nor power to strike down my father or launch a full scale attack on Asgard." Thor explained, gazing upon the looked he received. Most seemed bewildered at such words, but one thing was one everyone's mind; did Surtur have enough power to conquer Earth?

This question was soon voiced by Barton, who while sipping his coffee was keeping a close eye on Loki, "does he have enough power to go to war with us and possibly win?" He was arguably the most on edge out of everyone, having been the one to be subjected to Loki's mind control; he knew more of Loki's trickery than the others, except for Thor of course. He sipped his coffee to try and release the stress of the situation, but it wasn't working too well.

Now that was a question Thor did not want to answer, for surely the truth would severely dampen the spirits of all those around them. He looked down towards the floor and then met the gaze of everyone else, "Surtur has more than enough means to conquer or destroy Midgard if he so willed it." Solemn looks met the Thunder God's eyes as he finished his sentence, yet he added the only glimmer of hope that the mortals had after a few seconds, "However that would only be if we were not a team. Surtur may have great power, in both strength and magic but he is no match for the absolute combined efforts of all of us, especially if Loki were to join us in the fight."

Doubt and mistrust filled the air at Thor's last words; Loki could not be trusted by anyone and Thor was out of his mind if he thought any of them would trust him.

The God of Mischief smiled from his position facing away from everyone; he could feel his role in the conversation coming up… very soon, so very soon, Thor's optimism would be challenged by Loki's knowledge and after everyone knew what he had to say, they would be able to create the most efficient plan to stop Surtur that anyone had ever thought of.

"Wait a second," Coulson interrupted, gaining everyone's attention at the same time, "Loki, you said that you think you know why Surtur is declaring war on us. Care to enlighten us?"

The mentioned God turned to face them all; such ignorance of the universe should not be tolerated, Thor should know at least. But if Odin didn't know, how could he? Oh how Loki loved to be blessed with knowledge; all those years of reading instead of doing extra training while many warriors laughed in his face was beginning to pay off greatly. This time his knowledge would be more valued than ever before… that was of course if they did not assume that he was lying, which he wasn't.

Pacing forward, Loki wore an unreadable expression as he approached the table once more, "Very well. Let us begin with a tale that only Thor will know the beginning of, yet all of you know the end to." He stopped in his tracks, green eyes sparkling as he began his story. He loved this, being able to exercise that silver tongue of his after so long; he should come to Midgard more often since it appeared that things were far more fun when Loki conversed with those who in the masses had less intellect than himself. It made his deception easier and more amusing, but far less satisfying, since it was not so much a challenge opposed to deceiving Odin. Now that was priceless and an act he only ever did for fun…

"Two years ago, I fell from the Bifrost bridge; a bridge in Asgard that connects to all realms," He spared a glance towards Thor as his brother recalled the painful memory, "one could say it was also my fall from grace. I became lost to the void after falling through a tear in space. There I drifted for some time. How long? That is the guess of any man; however I suspect it was little more than a few hours." Loki paused as he took in the intent looks, seeing that everyone was listening. _They try to see if I lie… why do people always assume I am lying?_ _I do not lie _all _of the time, just when I need to. And I lie not now… but they do not know this. Thor should know surely? _He glanced at his brother once again, who seemed to be unsure of his words also, _brilliant, _Loki thought. _At least he is only unsure of the matter. I would rather have that than utter disbelief._

"Even Heimdall could not see you," A voice from his left informed him. Thor crossed his arms, the guarded gesture showing that he was not enjoying the recollection of such events. Such pain; the sorrow and the remorse he had felt, that he still felt… Thor would not wish such a painful burden on any man. There is no greater pain than the mourning of someone that one could never say goodbye to. Yet such joy he had felt when he learned that Loki had lived through such trials. Indescribable joy; only those closest to the trickster, no matter how hard that place by his side is to get, where the ones truly grateful. But these were a mere handful of people; Asgard cared not for the Prince of Lies unless he was publicly forgiven… so maybe on his return to Asgard he would be commended? Thor contemplated these thoughts greatly, for he was hardly the absent minded fool that many were lead to believe he was.

Loki turned to his brother briefly before addressing everyone else, sharing an understanding look. A rare thing between them, "After the certain amount time I spent in the void was up, I came to the other hole in the tear that our fight had caused. I fell through and landed on a barren rock in the middle of space. Exhaustion was my only real injury, at least physically, but mentally I had suffered greatly. My time in the void, with no actual idea how long I spent in there, constantly plunging to my supposed death; it created a deep sense of madness within and briefly scratched the surface of the darker side that we all have. The person you know be as now," He pointedly backed away from the table at this point, the eyes of everyone on the bridge now glued to him, yet some were tiring of this tale.

"Loki, I'm sure this is a very good bedtime story, but could you please get to the point?" Fury more commanded than asked of the Trickster. Boredom had tinted the mood, and the director did not want anyone dosing off on the job when deep within Loki's words there could be unseen lies. There were lies everywhere and this guy was the God that governed over them. If anyone knew how to lie and do it convincingly, it was him.

Smiling, the God looked upon him with amusement before he slowly began to pace, "Do not fret, there is a great point to this tale. As I was saying, once I landed upon the rock, I fell unconscious. However, when I woke again, I noticed that I was inside a prison cell. Confused, I demanded release, but instead, they took me, the Chitauri that I would very soon be the leader of, to their leader."

"Leader? I thought that you were their commander?" Thor questioned, looking at his little brother quizzically.

"No, their leader is a being whose mentality is currently far worse than my own. A mad titan obsessed with death, and has the power to bestow enslavement on almost any mind. That is the Chitauri leader, Thanos." Loki explained, his words dripping with malice and hate. "At the time, he offered me something that I could not refuse; a chance to once again be King of a realm that I would choose. I would have absolute power and a chance to prove myself in battle against Thor once again."

Natasha, who had not spoken in a very long while, interjected this time giving Loki a look that displayed utter disbelief, "It that all you care about? Power and beating your brother?"

"It is the nature of the Asgardians," Thor replied for his brother, knowing that they would get off track once more should Loki answer by himself, "Power may not be our desire, but proving our worthiness, that is something everyone strives for on Asgard. Our father is very demanding and expecting, thus we were in competition to prove ourselves once we had both reached of age. Every child on Asgard goes through something similar, but as sons of the king, one could say that we had it the worst." Thor looked down in regret. In all truth, he felt that perhaps Loki had been the one to have suffered the most under such pressures rather than Thor… but that was not a thing to dwell on now, there were far more pressing matters at hand.

Loki sent a silent thank you to his brother, knowing himself that if had had replied, they would have gotten off track once more. Taking a deep breath and facing everyone, he continued his tale, "I accepted the offer almost immediately, oblivious to what the consequences would be. However during my stay there for a year, I learnt the answer to your question. So here it is."

A smile spread across his lips as his silver tongue prepared itself for delivering the breaking news, "Surtur and Thanos are mortal enemies; once allies they now hate each other after an alliance of theirs was broken by Thanos. How? I am unsure. However the reason that Surtur declares war upon Midgard is to spite both Thanos and myself. He wishes to laugh in the face of his greatest enemy that is not of Asgard because of the alliance he broke and his failure to conquer what is considered the weakest of the nine realms. He also wishes to laugh at me for the same reason and quite possibly Thor because of his love for this world."

Silence. There was silence once more. But Loki was not finished yet… oh no, nowhere near finished.

"You may think his reasons for war are petty, however consider this; Surtur does not wish to conquer this world for his own. No, all he seeks is destruction. He wishes to obliterate this realm and he would do it by his own hands and watch the death of an entire race just to spite his enemy. In the end, you have no chance of negotiation and unless you put up a worthy defence, this world will burn in the fires of Muspelheim." And there it was, the news that brought everyone to think about just what kind of situation they were in.

They faced being obliterated and burned to death and destruction by a being of fire that cares not for who they are and wishes to destroy the human race out of pure spite. Added to this was that the aforementioned villain had an army of Fire Demons at his disposal, and considering the leviathans in the Chitauri attack, he could have many more horrors that fore now he kept secret, to make them live in fear. But as they contemplated such thoughts, they remembered that none other than the war criminal Loki was back on the planet conversing with them in a very civilised manner, when last year he had killed dozens, destroyed much of Manhattan and taken the minds of a fair few. Chaos was circling the Earth indeed and everyone better be prepared for when it struck.

The Avengers shared glances with each other, now knowing the full gravity of their situation; their faces were solemn or expressionless. The Agents on the bridge shared this as well as silence hit the air once more. The good Captain looked towards the God of Mischief with wonder; how could they trust such a man? A liar among liars. A deceiver amongst the deceptive. Loki was everything that they could not trust, yet it would be foolish to ignore his words, surely? Steve had doubts that even the God of Mischief could tell lies in such great detail while having an answer to every question… _I guess this is why he is the God of Lies and Mischief; no one can tell if he's lying or not. _Steve thought, before recalling a certain mishap; a hole, although small in Loki's words. And that is what the Captain used as his next question.

Thor shared a look with Loki in the moment before the question came, confusion gracing his features. Why? Well that would be answered in just a moment in fact.

Speaking up, Captain Rogers directed his question towards both of the Gods, demanding a straight answer, "Earlier Thor, you said that if we are a team then we have the means to prevent this from happening. But what Loki says now contradicts that; now what is the truth? Because I would like to know the real chances we have." The Captain was tired of hearing so many different opinions; he wanted the answer straight and true.

Loki grinned at this; oh how exaggerative he could be sometimes "I spoke about what would transpire if you did not put up a fight." And that was the truth, Loki may lie but he did not do so all the time, just most of the time, "If you and your full team stand against Surtur, I am sure that you will be victorious." He did not lie here; if this team could beat him, a God, then surely they could defeat Surtur. Or was that a miscalculation? No, Loki did not miscalculate often and when he did, he almost always corrected it quickly.

"But then that brings us to the important question; if you are supposedly on our side, will you fight with us," Fury inquired, voicing a question that everyone wanted answered. They all looked at him expectantly, giving the trickster the attention that for so long he had desired so much. This trip to Midgard certainly was paying off; this glorious attention, the way everyone seemed to be relying on the knowledge that the Trickster had… it pleasured his to know that he was getting true recognition, even if everyone did hate him; it fed his darkest desires like oil on a fire as he smiled upon them… although Loki himself would never tell you that he wished his darkest desires would never see the light, or help Yggdrasil many billions would perish.

"If you allow me, I will fight alongside your team in a battle against Surtur… Yes, I will," Loki answered with sincerity, his truthful gaze meeting the eyes of everyone else. _And I would do so with all my strength. Thor loves this realm so, even after what he was like in the past. Perhaps I can find certain attraction to this strange world also? _The God of Mischief thought to himself as he studied the faces of the ones he spoke to. They considered his offer, he could see it clear as day.

Calling it an end to this particular session, Fury commanded everyone once more, "Alright I think that's enough for now, so go and have a longer break. But Thor, I want you and your brother to stay on the bridge unless I say otherwise." Loki seemed to raise his eyebrow slightly when Fury referred to them as brothers, such a privilege remained only with members of Odin's family as far as the God was concerned, but he let it go for once.

A small amount of muttering was heard as everyone got up and left, casting wary glances at the God of Mischief as they strolled out of view. Except for Loki and Thor, who retreated to one side of the bridge, before they merely stood in silence side by side, something that had not occurred in a long time.

* * *

The minutes passed slowly; much like hours when one was bored, yet after only a brief ten minutes the silence between the two brothers was broken by none other than the God of Thunder himself. He turned to his brother who was gazing upon the now darkening sky, the sun resting on the horizon and the beauty of such a sun set; such peace that was between them that had not been for so long, it pleased Thor too much to express in words, but how unfortunate it was for this moment of peace to happen while an impending war loomed over them. Fate had an odd way of reunion, didn't it?

"Brother," Thor began, causing Loki to look at him with inquiry, "There is one thing that confuses me even after all of your explanations."

Intrigued, Loki replied after turning to look at the last seconds of the sun set; no matter where he was, the setting of the sun was always just as beautiful to marvel that Loki loved to enjoy "Oh, and what would that be?"

"You spoke earlier and said that you did not know why you are here," Thor answered, remembering his brothers words from before as they echoed so vividly in his head;

_"Why am I here?" Loki said, seeming to ask himself the question. He clasped his hands behind his back and started to pace again, casting a small glance towards his staff and knives, making sure that they had not been damaged. Even though they could not be; when the dwarves made weapons, they made weapons to last for eternity, or at least until the day of Ragnarok. He then went back to contemplating the questions he had been asked, thinking of the right words to answer with, but using a pause for dramatic effect. His words came to his silvertongue naturally, requiring no effort after centuries of refined practice, before flowing off in a perfect script. He could bury a person in riddles while speaking to confuse them, embedding the truth among his lies in such a way that they were believable to any person and this was one of Loki's greatest of gifts. Yet some would also call it a curse. Perhaps even the famed Trickster himself._

_Loki's expression would look neutral to most, but to the ones that knew him better than anyone, it was evident that he was considering the fact that he had returned to the very world he had tried to rule and he himself, did not know why. "That is a good question… one to which I do not even know the answer to at this present time." _

"You spoke the truth that time, even I could see it," the God of Thunder added, his face still lightly touched with confusion.

Loki turned to him once more, looking at him straight with eyes that did not lie, nor falter one bit in their gaze, "I spoke the truth, yes. What of it?" He asked, not quite understanding what his brother was attempting to put into words.

"Do you really not know why you chose to follow me here?" the Thunderer asked. His gaze was fixed on his brother's emerald eyes out of habit; Loki could normally lie flawlessly, yet when he wished to drop hints to another he would usually reveal the secret that he was telling some truth in his eyes; they would gain a more mischievous glint, making them appear ever so slightly lighter. This was not possible to spot by mortals, but the Thunder God was well versed in such practices and did it quite often. But if Loki were to lie and give not a single hint of his true intentions, Thor doubted even his father would know of such trickery.

Sighing, Loki looked down for a moment, before tiling his head back so he cast his emerald gaze upon the ceiling, "No, I do not," he met his brother's eyes and continued, "At first I contemplated by being here and came to the conclusion that I followed you here to merely protect the realm you had come to fall in love with so much, after being released from the dungeons of Asgard… yet somehow, I feel now that my supposed 'release' in the first place is lie, or even a test." The God of Mischief turned away from his brother and began pacing away from him, knowing full well that Nick Fury, though however good he was at discretion, was listening to them converse intently.

Thor followed his brother with hurried steps, a concerned look plastered to his features, "Loki, why would you consider such a thing?" He asked with genuine concern. He could see that certainly the Trickster meant his words… at least he was sure anyway. He hated not always knowing the full picture when it came to his brother. He knew he would find out in time, now being a time where Loki would soon tell him, but that was not always the case; more often than not Loki kept things from Thor, sometimes for his own good, other times not. It was a rift in their relationship as brothers that may never close, at least not fully, but there was always hope.

"Our father, Odin, never does anything without reason. In all actual fact, I believe my punishment to be ill fitting, at least in comparison to what others suffer," Yes, he had seen some of Odin's cruellest punishments first hand, and by the norns were they creative. Take one example for instance; a traitor of Asgard who had let in a Dark Elf assassin to kill the princes, who at the time had just come of age, Loki's birthday having been two days previous. When the guards had found and apprehended the man, Odin had ordered his execution, by means of being cast out to the realm of ironically, Muspelheim as a mere mortal, after being tortured for two days with no break in the dungeons for information. Needless to say, after around three days, there were no remains left of the man… not even bones. Heimdall had soon stated that he had been ripped to shreds by Fire Demons and then burned in the undying fiery plains while screaming for mercy. "My crimes are punishable by death after all."

But Loki knew of far crueller punishments that Odin could concoct, he dreaded to think what could have awaited him had Odin not been so lenient.

"So I believe Odin to be testing me; released me on the whim that I may have a small chance at redemption," Loki admitted, turning to face Thor as his brother stopped in his tracks.

Thor sighed at Loki's words; he knew that Odin had his certain ways of dealing with them both, but he was suspicious as to where the God of Mischief was taking this conversation. So in order to find out, he played the fool, knowing that Loki would undoubtedly know this, and asked a rather idiotic question, "You think father lies to you about being forgiven in his eyes and the eyes of the people in Asgard?"

"That I do," the younger God replied simply, "Odin has lied to me in the past, what is to say he does not try to deceive me once more?"

"Loki, I am sure father had his reasons about keeping your heritage from you," Thor tried the reasoning tactic, sensing that Loki still had some resentment to his adoptive father. He understood clearly what Loki was saying; he wasn't weaving sentences that lost people within them so they could not keep up with his speech pattern and thus fail to comprehend what he was conversing of. However he also knew that his brother had one other thing to say, having known him for his entire life, he knew when to expect such secrecy in a conversation.

"Whatever reasons he had he should explain to me on our return to Asgard. I wish to know why I was denied the truth and given every title a liar could ever have…" the sky outside had long since grown dark, the setting sun having faded away to be replaced by the bright and celestial beauty of the moon, slowly rising in the distance. Had it been a few years earlier in the palace of Asgard, Thor and Loki may very well have been conversing while gazing at the moon, but such times were past and this was not the right time nor place now.

Yet Loki disregarded the moon, which bore an ever stark resemblance to his place by Thor's side; two brothers, ever so different like the sun and moon, yet like the inseparable pair that was day and night neither could exist without the other. But instead of paying heed to this, Loki ghosted a look over to Thor, but seemed to look past him as he finished his sentence, staring at a blank space behind him "perhaps, it is because I am the greatest lie in existence? My entire being is a lie, maybe I am a being created of illusion, existing, but not truly existing at that. I am a lie and so are many of my words." He seemed to question himself as much as he did Thor with these words, confusion about his usually indifferent or smiling features.

Thor instantly closed the gap between them, gripping the other's shoulders and shaking him a little roughly, before bringing his hand up to grip the side of Loki's neck; a gesture often shared between close shield brothers, or the closest of brothers at that. Though they were not bound by blood, Thor would never cast Loki aside; they were brothers, no matter what. The Thunder God stared at the Trickster, forcing him to meet his gaze; sapphire met emerald and once Thor knew Loki was focused on him, he spoke, "listen to me brother and listen well; you are no lie, you stand before me in physical form, not some illusion crafted of evil. Though we share no blood or similarities in looks, you are my brother. You always have been and you always will be, no matter what. You used lie only when necessary, I know this now and you are that person once again, not the man from last year that I met who carried naught but poisonous hate in his heart." To prove his point, Thor squeezed Loki's shoulder comfortingly and reassuringly.

"You hide the confusion that you face so well from others, Loki, yet I know you to be puzzled on many matters right now. I know I cannot and most likely will never be able to understand just how that mind of yours works and how many thoughts you have at a certain time, but I do know something for sure; I may not have been blessed with such intellect as you, but I know that I will always be here to try and help you when you are confused." Thor pulled his brother's head closer, so their foreheads here touching; the greatest gesture shared between two brothers, by blood or by battlefield. Loki seemed not to mind such close contact with Thor, despite their rather unstable relationship as brothers, "I may not have seemed the most approachable of people in the past, but now Loki, I am here for you and I always will be."

All the past tension they had shared between them throughout the previous months seemed to dissipate in both of their minds as Loki looked upon Thor, trusting him fully for the first time in a while and believing his words. It felt odd to the God of Mischief; so long had he been absent to such trust in another, yet this made him feel relief. He may very well still have a heart under the ice, at least he thought so now anyway. It made him feel strange… so this was sentiment, a feeling Loki had thought he had forgotten long ago, yet experienced now. It was a pleasant feeling and filled him with hope; he might not be all that lost after all, just misguided, needing to be set back on the right path as it were.

The sincerity in Thor's words and tone, so genuine and real; this is what the Thunder God really thought. While he could not twist words and weave glorious tales like Loki, at least all of his words came from a golden heart and were sincere. Of course Loki was also sincere… sometimes when people could tell anyway, but the legend of his silver tongue often got in the way, causing much disbelief of his words to sprout wherever he went in Asgard.

But perhaps that would change? Maybe upon his return he would be welcomed back by everyone with open arms, accepted, truly by the people. Not scorned for his ways but praised for them because of his cunning?

Maybe there just might be a chance for redemption after all.

* * *

Loki has only given a small explanation, the bigger one will be in the next chapter, where we will see more of the others. I hope I wrote Thor okay, I sometimes have trouble with him. Also, my other portrayals of the characters are not the best, but I need scene where they say more really. Hopefully next chapter.

So, I updated. But don't expect the next one too soon, I have a lot of work to do.


	5. A quick note from the author

A quick note.

It is very likely that this story will not be updated until the summer due to my exams. If it is, then a miracle has happened, but until then, I promise you this fic will not be abandoned, only put on hold until I have time.

I will start Chapter 5 tomorrow, but I doubt I will finish it.

Thank you.


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